Back from the brink

For two days, no one at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Fairless Hills knew for sure if the school would live or die.

"Wednesday, we were feeling pretty good," said school President Janet Dollard. "Thursday, we weren't."

Edginess prevailed.

CEC was among four archdiocesan high schools slated for closing amid an economic depression, spiraling debt and dwindling enrollments. It was uncertain what Archbishop Charles Chaput would say at his 3 p.m. press conference on Friday.

The presser was live-streamed into CEC's gym, where about half of the school's 600 students assembled in the bleachers. Minutes before Chaput stepped to the microphone, the kids spontaneously prayed the Hail Mary, some with their eyes closed, others clasping each other's hands.

When Chaput said CEC would stay open, the cheering roar nearly blew the roof off the gym.

"We did it! We did it!" a girl yelled, jumping up and down.

The kids spilled from the bleachers and flooded the basketball court, hugging each other, carrying each other. Some cried.

"Ring that bell! Ring that bell!" they shouted, and they flooded from the gym, down a stairwell and outside into a gray, drizzly afternoon. They converged on a small brick bell tower near the monastery. The bell is rung for school victories. They rang it and rang it. Some kids danced.

"Everyone here is family. We have a great school and a great tradition and we're going to keep both," said John Macnamara, a graduating senior who is also the school's eagle mascot.

It was joyful. But even as Conwell-Egan steps back from the brink, the school this morning is fundamentally different. If it survives -- and there's no guarantee it will, given its financial challenges -- CEC's greatest days as a top-notch private school lay ahead.

CEC is still Catholic, but the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will play a much smaller role in its administration. CEC will have a board of directors, comprised of graduates and local benefactors, overseeing the school's finances and curriculum.

The school's relationship with the archdiocese is "like a long-term lease," said Chris Pinto, (CEC '95) a member of the alumnae association.

"We will still buy some services from the archdiocese, but we run the show from paying teacher salaries to paying the electric bill," he said.

The school still has debt. It needed about $2.7 million to close an operating deficit. Feverish fundraising over the last few weeks raised about $1 million, and more money has been pledged.

But CEC also has a team of business savvy alums, among them Tom Lynch, CEO of Tyco Electronics, and Mike Hagan, former CEO of Nutrisystem.

They, along with an array of area business leaders, are committed to solving the school's long-term financial problems, and see the place survive and prosper.

"These guys are CEOs and they're serious," Pinto said. "Before if we wanted $5,000 for new speakers in the auditorium, we'd have to go to the archdiocese, and the answer would be no. These guys don't like 'no.' They get things done."

The school is committed to having its campus digitally wireless by September.

"It's amazing," Pinto said. "Nothing is off the table for us. We will be the most competitive high school in the region."

CEC will also benefit from the archdiocese's "Faith in the Future Foundation," which has raised $12 million to sustain the Philadelphia region's faltering Catholic school system, which shuttered or combined scores of parish grade schools in January.

More than $1 million of the Faith in the Future money was donated by the Jewish community, said former state representative John Cordisco (Egan '73), who personally lobbied Archbishop Chaput to keep CEC open.

"The (Jewish) community realizes the value of the education that these schools provide to our area," he said. "You don't invest that kind of money unless you believe the education is superior."

Conwell-Egan will defy the odds, Pinto said.

"We're still here," he said. "We're open for business."

J.D. Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@phillyburbs.com.

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